From Alchemists to a Conductor
by To Sink Into Silence
Summary: A simple inquiry about his father lead Ed and Al to Outset Island, where they have to help save Aryll and perhaps even find the Triforce. Was it mere chance they got involved, or is it something more?
1. The Library Circle

**Yay, first chapter! I apologize ahead of time for any OOC characters and such. I wrote this chapter on paper first since I wasn't near a computer most of the time, and it seems so much more longer on paper than it does typed! Not even to mention all my spelling mistakes, crappy handwriting, and the works.**

**Thanks Seengot for reading part of it beforehand, although writing " :3 tacoz are good :)" on the top of one of my pages and a note saying how you're going to rule the world and dye Lelouch's hair blonde was a bit.... unecessary. XD**

**I don't own Full Metal Alchemist nor the other series that hasn't been introduced yet. This contains foul language and no OCs; it **_**is**_** a cross-over.**

The Library Circle

"WHERE THE HELL IS IT?!" Ed yelled, loud enough to make all the nearby people look up from their books and for Ed to receive a stern glance from the librarian.

"What's wrong Brother?" Al asked as he walked back to their table with more maps.

"It's that island Winry told us about. It's_ not here_." Ed banged his fist on the table and grabbed another map. "Maybe she misheard him? Stupid low-life father, right when we need him, he disappears to an island that doesn't fucking exist."

Al sighed. Maybe Winry did mishear, but plenty of illogical things have happened to them over the years, and he was sure the place did exist. He recounted back to two days ago when they returned to the Rockbell place.

_The train slowed to a stop and the Elric brothers got off, Al's metal body standing out in the crowd of people while Ed's vertically-challenged stature could hardly be seen. Al grabbed their luggage and walked over to the smaller Elric, whose mechanical arm was in a sling; Scar was spotted in Central again._

_As they made it up towards the Rockbell place, Ed murmured and swore under his breath about all the things Winry would do to him. Al wanted to keep his brother's mind off of his impending demise and instead brought up their father. "I can't believe he decided to stay for a while here Brother, maybe we could ask him about the Philosopher's Stone?"_

_Ed didn't say anything in reply and Al let the subject drop; he knew Ed would bring it up again if he wanted to. They walked in silence for a while, then Ed suddenly said "He'd better tell us what he knows about the Stone."_

_As they appproached the house, Ed started to walk behind Al; experience had told him a wrench would come their way soon. Al chuckled a bit and as they got closer, the familiar _whzz_ streaked through the air. Considering this is an anime, it's no suprise the wrench somehow missed the younger Elric and collided with the older Elric's face; a perfect shot. Winry has good aim._

_"DAMN IT WINRY, NOW WHAT DID I DO?!" Ed yelled at the girl on the balcony._

_"YOU BROKE MY PERFECTLY GOOD AUTOMAIL, THAT'S WHAT!" she yelled back. As they screamed an argument with each other, they got closer to the door of the house, which was held open by WInry's grandmother._

_"They fight like a married couple" she said towards Al's direction, and lit up._

_"WE'RE NOT MARRIED!" they both yelled back in unison. The old woman only laughed and blew out some smoke. Al also tried to hold back a snicker, but failed. "Well" she finally said to break the arguement up, "Winry, why don't you treat your guests properly?"_

_---_

_Winry was fixing up Ed's arm on the table while her grandmother examined his automail leg. "Looks like you've grown a bit Edward."_

_"Really? I mean, I know that, but how much?" the alchemist jumped up from his chair. She rolled up the measuring tape. "Nah, I was just yanking your chain, you didn't grow an inch."_

_"ARE YOU CALLING ME SHORT, I'M NOT SHORT GODDAMNIT!" Ed proceeded to have something similar to a temper tantrum. Everyone ignored him._

_Al remembered their father. "Hey Winry, is Hoenheim still around? We want to talk to him." Ed stopped ranting immediatly and sat down, intently listening._

_Winry set down a screwdriver she was using. "He left a day ago actually, said there were some people he wanted to visit."_

_"Did he say, uh, where?" Al asked while Ed twitched in his seat in anger._

_"What was it Grandma, Outset Island? Yeah, that sounds about right. Never heard of it though."_

Now Ed and Al were in Central's library, unsuccessfully trying to find this Outset place. Ed finally gave up this random search and asked the librarian, who was across the room checking out some kid's books. She didn't even know the library carried maps.

Ed went back to his seat disappointed and noticed that in the time he was gone, Al had went back to the shelves and the map he was looking at earlier rolled back into a cyllinder shape. He unrolled it and found a piece of paper that was not there before. Ed then read it.

Edward and Alphonse,

If you want to get

To Outset,

Meet me in the back

Hall of the library

At 11 tonight.

"Hmph." The message was strangely written and hardly legible, yet this was perhaps the first lead they had towards their father's actual location. Ed ran over to his younger brother, who was looking at the shelves. "Al, stop looking! We're going to the back hall tonight!"

---

They stood outside the door to what should be the library's back hall. It was dark out, and seemingly no one else was there. There wasn't even a light coming from the other side of the door.

"Are you sure this is a good idea Brother?" Al asked nervously.

"Can you think of anything better Al? This is strange, but the fact the island isn't on any map is maybe even stranger." Ed looked up at his brother and lightly knocked his fist against the hollow metal. "Besides, aren't we used to strange things by now?"

He then decided that if he was going to enter that room, he had to do it before enough logic convinced him otherwise. Ed opened the door and they walked into the room. There were no windows, so the only light came from the outside where they came in, therefore the room was very dimly-lighted. The room was bare except for markings on the floor, unseen by the brothers.

"Looks like no one is here yet" stated Al. They walked farther into the room until they were on the markings.

Suddenly, a blue light emitted from the lines. "The hell?!" Ed yelled. They were standing in the middle of what turned out to be a very large transmutation circle.

"Brother, look down!" Al said. In the middle of the circle was a large triangle made of three individual triangles that glowed brightly. It turned white and the room momentarily whited out.

Edward and Alphonse Elric walked into the back hall of Central's library at 11:02 at night. When the flash disappeared and the transmutation circle's lights went out moments later, they were gone.


	2. An Outset Look on Things

**So here we are, the second chapter. Amazing for me, no? I didn't really write this chapter on paper, so it might not seem as well edited as the last one. THANK YOU VERY MUCH . (for favoriting), VampireArgonian92(for favoriting and reviewing), and seengot(for reviewing and putting this on alert)!!! You people are my BFFs now. XD I'm so happy. **

**I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, Windwaker, and some other references I might make. This still contains foul language, and some other content that isn't appropriate for children. That's why it's rated T. Once again, sorry for any OOCness.**

An Outset Look on Things

Ed woke up dazed, unsure of what just happened. He could tell that he was no longer in that room and instead lying sprawled on some grass. Ed sat up slowly, looking at his surroundings as he did so, for a faintest clue as to where the hell he was. There was a house by him on the right-hand side, so he was in someone's lawn. In front of him was this tall watchtower, which was attracting seagulls for some strange reason. Behind was a wall of rock and to the left was a bridge and a few more houses, although there didn't seem to be more than four.

Ed had to look for Al, and decided to start by going to the right. There was a easily-walkable slope that he climbed, but there were trees blocking the rest of the path. A sign was by the trees, but Ed couldn't read what it said; it was written in some form of jibberish. "Shit." The only solution to his problem was alchemy, and with the clap on his mechanical arm, a blade emerged and the trees were swiftly removed from existance.

The end of the path wasn't very useful to Edward, although it gave a complete overview of the unknown land he was on, which was actually an island. There was a creepy man on the edge of the the hill with a telescope, but he was of no help, only babbling about some secret and a tri-thing. Ed wanted to push him off the cliff. Also, the bridge was out, so any idea that Alphonse was in that densely wooded forest was hopefully unlikely.

Unsure of how to find his brother, he decided to scan the area from that height, surely large gray armor would stand out if he looked hard enough. It was then that Ed saw the boy at the top of the watchtower, and perhaps someone else up there too. But it was the boy that stood out, the one in the blue shirt and orange pants with the messy blonde hair. He watched as the kid got on the ladder to go down when he suddenly let go and plummeted down perhaps twenty feet. Ed didn't really think about what he was doing until he already ran down the hill and was approaching the dock. Why was he going to see if that boy was okay? He was looking for Al, Al, not helping strangers. But that blonde hair reminded him of a time before his brother was hollow armor, and so he ran.

However, Ed was actually a bit angered when he saw the kid was perfectly fine and walked along to wherever he was going without even noticing Edward's attempt to come to his aid. In fact, that short temper kicked in and he ran up to the boy, grabbed his shoulder, turned him around, and practically yelled "What the hell is your problem?'

The boy was shocked at the alchemist's sudden arrival and outburst. "....Excuse me?"

"I just saw you stupid, you just jumped off that watchtower! You expect me to just _excuse _you for trying to break your fucking legs?"

Looking at the kid, Ed realized that he just yelled at a complete stranger for almost no reason. The boy obviously knew what he was doing, and even if he didn't, there were other people around, somewhere, that could have come to his aid. Ed also recalled the reason he even came running to begin with. He looked down and kicked the grass. "Look" he said, "I'm sorry for snapping at you, sort of. I just was looking for my, uh, brother and I saw you falling and just freaked out."

The boy just smiled. "Apology accepted. I was just showing off for my sister, up there." He pointed up at the watchtower. There was a small, blonde girl with seagulls flocking around her.

She saw the boys were looking at her and waved. "Link! You still have to go to Grandma's, she has a present for you!" the girl called out.

"Shoot! I completely forgot about that" the boy, who was apparently named Link, said, and began to sprint off, then stopped and turned around. "Hey, do you want to come? Maybe Grandma saw your brother or something."

Ed figured he might as well come, help from island residents was probably more useful than searching on his own. "Might as well. I'm Edward by the way."

"Edward? That's kind of odd for a name."

"I didn't ask for your opinion, _Link_."

They walked at a relatively fast pace towards where this Link person seemed to live, but were stopped on the bridge connecting the two islands by a little boy. "Link, Link! Could you jump onto those rocks and get that rupee? It'd be really cool if you did!"

Ed thought that it was an unusual request and started to question why there was a jewel on that rock to begin with when Link patted the kid's head. "Sure, but watch carefully, ok?"

"You're seriously going to do it?"

"I don't see why not, I'm broke after all." Link then backed up on the bridge and ran towards the next rock, and almost miraculously, leaped directly on his target. He did it again for the rock after that, and came back with a green jewel in his hands.

"Wow! That was amazing, I wish I could be like you Link!"

It really was, Ed agreed in his head, but didn't actually say anything, and they walked on. Instead, he asked a completely different question when Link looked at like he expected the other to say something. "Where do you put those things once you get them?"

"My rupee?" Link pondered it for a second, then slapped his side and said "My pocket." He nodded vigorously to confirm his statement, although it unecessary and partially childish. He saw no strange look on Ed's face and decided to continue. "I can hold ninety-nine in my pocket at once!" His face beamed.

"What the hell do you need ninety-nine rupees for?"

A pause. "I don't know."

"Alright then. Which house is yours?"

He pointed swiftly towards the one at the very far back of the island with several small trees and bushes in front of it. " Grandma, Aryll, and I live there."

"Aryll being that little blonde girl that you left?"

"You make me sound like a negletful brother, but yes."

They passed some more of the houses with minor small talk, and Ed couldn't help but look at the scenery. It was a very isolated island, with moslty trees and grass accomidating the villagers. How could they stand to live here? Maybe he felt that way from all the traveling he and Al had to do, full of a cold harshness this life seemed to lack.

Once they were only a few feet from the house, Link started to run and opened the door, walked in nicely, then shut it behind him. What the hell? was the only thing that ran through Ed's mind. He decided that he had right to walk in too, and found himself entering the exact same way as Link.

"Hi Grandma!" The old woman was sitting at the table near the fire, where something was being cooked in a pot. However, this wasn't what was struck Ed dumbfounded. What did was the people who were seated with her. Alphonse took up another chair near the end of the table and Hoenheim was seated right next to her.

"The hell?" Ed asked, which seemed all he managed to say lately.

"Hi Brother!" Al said when he saw him walk in.

"Seriously Al, what the hell are you doing in here?"

"No coarse language in front of the elderly Edward, didn't I teach you better?" Hoenheim sternly scolded the son he hadn't seen in years.

"You asshole!" Ed lunged at the man. A quick dodge made Ed's face meet the chair was being used until very recently, and fell over in a heap on the floor.

"Brother!"

"Oh my!"

"... What just happened?"

The commotion caused everyone in the room, although there weren't many, to all start talking at once. No one could really piece together what they had saw, considering each only knew a certain amount of detail that wasn't shared. It took Hoenheim, after lifting up his son by the coat and making him face the group, to explain everything. "Ma'am" he began, "this one is my other son."

"Oh! You must be Edward, very nice to meet you, my Hoenheim, you sure have them old. How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

A seemingly awkward pause. "...Oh my, well, I should be a good hostess. Would either of you boys like some soup?"

Ed was about to decline, but Al answered before he had a chance. "We'd love some ma'am."

Link's grandmother began looking for bowls and Ed sat down next to his younger brother. He whispered furiously "How the hell did you get here?"

"That nice lady found me wandering looking for you. She told me that waiting in one place was a lot more useful than trying to look for you all day."

"And_ him_?" Ed's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he pointed to the man who was his father.

"I don't know, he just showed up a bit ago, I haven't got to talk to him myself." Al sighed, knowing this answer wasn't suitable for Ed and that information_ will _be spilled, no matter what. Just like always with the Philospher's Stone.

Ed waited patiently for the old woman to bring their soup and then sit down, then he tried for bringing the current situation up as small talk. "So asshole, why are you here on an uncharted island anyway?" On second thought, screw the small talk.

"I could be asking you the same thing." He sipped some beverage from a cup. "Your tea is equisite as always madam."

"Why thank you" she blushed a bit. The woman was either deaf or naive to not notice the tension everyone else held or even think the conversation was a bit strange, Ed deduced.

He decided to question again, but was beaten to the punch. "Grandma, what's going on here? Aryll said to come here for a suprise, but why are you letting strangers in your house? You know that's dangerous."

"OH!" The woman got up suddenly. "The suprise! I completely forgot with all this excitement." She went to a dressor and pulled some green clothes out and handed them to the boy. "Put these on."

"But they're _green_-"

"You want to disappoint your old grandma?"

"No."

"Good. Put them on."

He climbed the ladder leading to what appeared to be an upstairs and did as he was told. Link then climbed back down with his face red, contrasting greatly with the green tunic and hat he was now wearing.

"You look so cute!"

"You look like a moron."

"Why are you wearing that?" Al's question was probably the only thing that didn't make Link want to stab himself repeatedly at the spot.

His grandmother chose to briefly explain how it was a tradition that all boys his age wore it on their birthday and that the great hero of time saved the world, etc etc. Ed stopped listening and didn't hear most of it. He couldn't help but wonder why this place was so isolated from the terrors of war and Homunculus though.

Afterward, the conversation died down a bit and mostly everyone ate their soup without complaint. Only Link took notice that Al didn't remove his helmet and eat. Very strange indeed for him, but these two were strangers, so he didn't know of their eating habits.

But despite the group getting calm and eating lunch, there was still confusion. Ed couldn't keep patient enough to wait for Hoenheim to answer what most were wondering. "Why are you even here anyway?"

The man calmly placed his cup down, but if you were to look at his face, it shown a thought of 'Not this again." "I believe Winry told you didn't she? I'm visiting relatives."

"She only said that you were visiting people. Who are you related to here?"

You'd think common sense would apply itself about now. "Why Link here of course."

The baton was passed and Al questioned next. "Is he your nephew?"

He only smiled. "He's your brother."

**There seemed to be a lot of dialouge in this chapter, but it was the only way I felt to explain things. Sorry. But I really wanted to end the chapter with this twist, although I bet some of you were expecting it. Please wait patiently for my next update. :D**


	3. Family Reunion

**Thank you Nox Noctis of Eternus Luna (for putting my story on alert), 5FIVE5 (for reviewing), VampireArgonian92 (for reviewing),Willowleaf2560(for putting on alert), Fantasy Dreamer1992 (for reviewing and putting it on alert), linkin-link (for reviewing, putting it on alert, and favoriting), narusasuiscool(for favouriting and putting on alert), YukuAmayaMizuki (for putting on alert), OverLord-Kursed (for putting on alert), QueenofDaydreams66 (for favouriting and putting on alert), andxXxshikatema4evaxXx (for reviewing)!!**

**I'm sorry for the hiatus.**

Family Reunion

"What the hell is wrong with you, you fucking manwhore?!" Ed started yelling at his, no, their father about how the tragic past where the father left and the mother died, only then to find out years later that he was with another woman, knocked her up, then probably left and let her die too. Link wasn't listening. He was too busy thinking about how it all made sense in a way; the boy Ed's sudden arrival, a strange man in his home that was treated with familiarity and kindness, why his mother never talked about him either. He supposed all women were the same on that aspect when they're forced to become single mothers.

This man was Aryll and his father. It was actually exciting knowing now that he had one. But apparently, Ed didn't feel the same way, but he also knew the guy for longer. The person in the suit didn't seem to have much of an opinion, but perhaps that was because Link couldn't see his face. Maybe he would ask about that later.

In his curiosity, he interrupted Ed, just to make sure. "Is Aryll also your kid too?"

"Yes."

"At least he's consistent" the suit person spoke to himself.

"I have to go tell Aryll, she needs to meet you!" He got up from the table with its forgotten meal on it and ran to the door and stopped. This was a perfect opportunity to also get Ed away from their father before killing him, which seemed to be a very likely possibility the longer his rant went on. "Hey Ed, you should come too! Oh, and you!" Link pointed at the suit of armor, since he did not know how to address the man, if it was a man. "It'll be fun!"

The shorter boy grumbled and pointed at Hoenheim, choosing a few choice words Link didn't know the meaning of, but was aware that they were serious insults. The suit person coughed politely, then pardoned himself and pushed his chair in after getting up. He realized the guy was planning on using force to remove Ed from this brawl. It was almost comical. But Link took action first, yanking childishly on his red coat. "Ed, Ed, come on!"

----

It was tough saying no to his new half-brother; Link's face glowed with sheer bliss at the prospect of actually having a parent, and Ed knew the kid had good intentions by trying to get him out of the room. He even went as far as asking Al to come. Denying was a crap option. "Fine, come on Al."

"Coming, Brother!" Ed let Link leave the house and shut the door in their faces first, then Al. He quickly turned around with his good hand on the doorknob and flicked his father off one last time. "We'll continue this later." He then slammed the door as hard as he could.

"What spunky children you have, Hoenheim."

Ed struggled to catch up to Link, who was running like a maniac to the watchpost. Al was doing a better job than him though, probably since he had no way of tiring his legs. A boy, different from the first one they saw, was following them for a while, snot trailing out of his nose. Why didn't the kid get a tissue? Link ran just a little bit faster when the kid was around, to Ed's observation. He didn't blame him.

At last the odd trio reached the watch post and climbed up one by one. It was nerve-wrecking, with him wondering if the kid was going to suddenly let go again and knock the three in a pile on the deck, actually breaking limbs this time. Luckily, he was like a ninja, climbing with swift ease, reassuring him that impending death was not upon them for now.

Aryll greeted everyone happily and gave Link her telescope to borrow. "Just for today, OK? It's my favourite so you can't hurt it." She also hugged the other two once the boy let them know they were all related. It was awkward, but not unbearable, until she accidentally touched his right arm. "It's all hard!" she said, shocked.

"Yeah, I, uh, wear armor under this one because it bruises easily."

"Is that why you're wearing that red coat? Explains a lot" Link commented while playing with the lens. He wanted to ask what he meant by that, but decided not to for it would most likely result in him pushing the brother off the watch post.

Al and Aryll seemed to have made an immediate bond, allowing the girl on top of his shoulders so she could be higher. "Don't drop her!" Link repeatedly whined. Ed took his telescope out of his hands and started looking through it himself. There was a weird creature, some sort of bird-human, putting mail in the post box and a man with a fat head sitting on his roof. It was no doubt a strange place, but glancing back at Al pointing things out to Aryll while Link jumped around them to catch her if she fell, it came to his attention one could like it here.

Suddenly, Aryll yelled. "Look at the sky!" Ed had the telescope ripped out his hands so the younger one could get a better view, but it was not necessary. A colossal bird was flying above with a ship catapulting rocks at it.

"Why are they doing that?" He asked, squinting.

Link zoomed in. "It's holding a person in that claw" he pointed "right there. See it?"

It was hard to see much from that distance, but there was definitely a person being clutched by the creature. Silence breached the watchpost as they all watched the scene helplessly. The bird avoided all the rocks despite its size until it made the mistake of pausing to look back at the pursuer, who launched a particularly heavy stone in the face. The bird was stunned, dropping the person it held into the forest above the village.

"Oh, you guys need to help that person!" Aryll cried, "they could be hurt from such a fall!"

Ed actually jumped off the watch post, feeling the shock in his leg from the landing, but ignoring it. "Come on then, let's go" he called to the others.

Al continued to use the ladder and Link missed his landing point when jumping, resulting in a cold plunge into the water. "Wait" he said climbing back onto the dock. "That place is really dangerous, we can't just go in there unarmed."

"But we're not unar-"

"I've got it! There's Orca! Let's go see him." Link rushed off again, leaving the two behind with galloping speed.

As they caught up, Ed asked "What the hell is an Orca? Some type of whale?"

"No, he's a person, see? Right inside that building." It was a two-story house with the man with the fat head sitting on top. There was a ladder on the side to get to the second floor, with Ed wondering where a decent staircase was, and a door to the first floor. Link chose to stay on the ground floor and opened the wooden door.

A tall man with a protruding gut was practicing hitting a fish with a spear. A sigh escaped; of course the whale man has to be a weird as his name. Al lightly smacked him upside the head so he would exchange no comment.

Link happen to know the man very well. "Orca, Orca! I need you to teach me how to fight!" A blunt statement.

The whale man threw him a sword. "Try the horizontal slice." They watched as Link swung at him, only to be knocked down by the man's spear. "The_ horizontal _slice Link."

"What the fu-"

"Brother." Al shushed him. He had to watch in silence as Link lunged at Orca several times. He deemed the old man psychotic, but obeyed Al in fear of the spear finding its way into his skull.

Luckily, it did not take long and the master and apprentice bowed to each other. Orca then said Link could keep the sword. Afterward, Ed and Al payed polite respect to the man, thanked him for his time, and they ditched the place as fast as they could.

Link started randomly swinging at grass with his new weapon until Al politely reminded him that there was still a person dropped in the middle of the forest. They set off again with new vigor.

The path was a winding hill upward behind a house, something eerily similar to Ed. Once again, there were trees blocking the remainder of the path, which had somehow grown back from perhaps an hour ago, and the sign in gibberish. He started to unroll his sleeve when Link cleared the path and the sign with glee.

"What did that sign say?" Al asked.

"Nothing, nothing" Link assured the curious alchemist.

"Nothing my _ass_" Ed yelled. They were walking perilously on the bridge across the two parts of the cliff, which was missing several planks in the middle. "That sign said the bridge was broken, didn't it?"

"It's only a couple pieces of wood, you can easily jump it." The younger boy sped over the gap as if there was a full bridge under him to show how simple it was. The more agitated blonde had to practically throw himself over it with the automail's heaviness slowing his jump. Al was tall enough to walk over it, but he was giving off a worried vibe the entire crossing, afraid the worn wood would collapse under their combined weight.

The forest on the other side had a relatively clear path and they could see the person, who was a girl, hanging off a branch unconscious. "There she is!" Once again, Link started running, followed closely by his brothers. Several logs had to be climbed and there was an abundance of tall grass hiding rupees.

Upon reaching the clearing, two ugly birds dropped pig-like monsters, who proceeded to attack the trio. Ed clapped his hands and pulled a spear out of the ground, causing the one who never saw alchemy before to drop his jaw and get hit over the head. However, Link swung his sword at the creature's legs while falling over and managed to balance himself before hitting the ground. Al backed him up with his fists and the brawl ended relatively quickly, with the monsters disappearing into smoke.

The girl chose then to regain consciousness and started to wriggle herself around to break free, only to have the branch give to her weight and drop her to the ground. They rushed over.

"Are you all right?" Al was the first to get there.

"Just fine. Hey, what's with your outfits? This some weird costume party or something?" The girl brushed herself off. Ed noticed Link was staring unusually hard and realized he was smitten. She was also blonde, with pointed ears that seemed somehow native around this area. Her outfit was for sea travel, and it actually looked as if she could pass for a pira-

"MISS TETRA!" A rather large man came bounding through the forest entrance. "Are you all right? PLEASE DON'T DIE! WE NEED YOU!"

"Shut up!" She yelled at him. He came to her side. "Where'd that stupid bird drop me anyway?"

"O-on a cliff."

"WHAT? Well, that wasn't very nice of it." Tetra finally muttered. She started toward the entrance. "Let's go."

The man, who also looked like a pirate, was shocked. "But what about these kids?"

"Leave 'em."

Ed was pissed. He turned to Link. "What the fuck's her problem?"

"Let's find out!" He said, and also ran towards the entrance.

"No, you took my question wrong- oh never mind. Let's follow him Al." He rubbed his forehead while saying that, and began walking.

"Brother, I have a bad feeling about this" he said to the frustrated alchemist and they followed the pirates outside. "What happened to that giant bird?"

"Hmm." He had a point. Ed stopped rubbing his forehead. "I don't know."

Everyone stopped at the bridge. On the other side of the gap, Aryll was there, waving. "Who's the kid?" Tetra wondered out loud.

"My- _our_ sister" Link responded and waved back. She came running towards them.

Then it happened. They found out where the giant bird was. It came swooping down and tore the girl straight off the bridge. Link drew out his sword and ran after it, forgetting they were on a cliff. He lost footing and started to plummet. The pirate grabbed his arm at the last second, and everyone else grabbed onto her to pull them both up.

The boy lay gasping on the grass."Aryll" he whined, watching the bird fly away.

"She's gone" Tetra said, also looking. "She's gone."

******This chapter seemed a bit rough in parts to me, so I apologize if that is truly the case.**  
So, I'm making the due date for the next chapter to be the 12th. Hopefully there'll be an update in your inbox by then :D.


	4. Forsaken

**Thank you ShiroAndFubuki (for putting on alert and reviewing), 5FIVE5 (for reviewing and favouriting), beccaskydives (for putting on alert), NightmareSyndrom (for putting on alert and favouriting), Randomzzz (for favouriting and reviewing), and xXxshikatema4evaxXx (for reviewing)! :'3 This is my happy face of joy I get when opening my inbox.**

**I'm sorry that my deadline idea failed. **

Forsaken

"WHAT?" Everyone was stumped at Link's question.

"You can't come on our ship, we're pirates!" Tetra started.

"We hardly know these people" Al said.

"Did you not see the fucking gigantic bird? There could be hundreds of those things out there!" Ed practically yelled.

Al leaned close and whispered, "But we knew about the Homunculi and still took them on."

"That was different. At least we had more people beating the shit out of those things." He whispered back.

"We can hear you."

"What's a hah-man-clus Ed?" Link asked.

"Not important."

Tetra cleared her throat. "Ahem, back on track here? No one except pirates go on pirate ships, got it?"

"Yeah" one of the other pirates said, "Besides, we had nothin' to do with ya' sister's kidnappin'."

"Oh really?" Ed was shocked, not noticing the postman approached next to him. Closer up, the man looked even more like a bird-human combination. Did these creatures have a species, and if so, what are they called? He realized he was staring and looked away.

"If I recall correctly from all the places I visit, that bird kidnaps girls with pointy ears, just like this boy's sister. And like you, Miss Pirate." He calmly said.

"Does it have something against girls with certain ears or something?"

"I do not know. I do know however, that it lives in the Forsaken Fortress and that you pirates owe these children a favour for saving your captain's life. Dropping them off wouldn't kill you."

She sighed. "OK then, tell you what" Tetra said, giving in. "We'll let the three of you come with us if he" she pointed at Link, "gets something to defend himself with by the end of the day."

"Why me?" Link whined.

"You look the most stupid of the group. Shorty and suit guy over there can probably handle themselves-"

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SHORT?"

"My point. You on the other hand, need all you can get. So shoo." She gestured. "Come back later."

Quill seemed satisfied with this and nodded. "You shouldn't make this young lady wait. I'm sure you can find a shield of some sort."

The boy seemed to realize where he could get one and nodded furiously. Without saying much of a good bye, he took off again. Al felt responsible and said it for him, bowing deeply until Ed yanked him to go. He was starting to wonder if this constant running was going to become a habit. The automail on his leg had started to pinch him from the constant tailing he had to do.

Surprisingly, Link didn't head back to the whale-man's place. Instead, he cut through the small trees blocking his path and stopped at the porch in front of his house. "You guys are so slow sometimes" he said curtly.

"We're not the ones spontaneously taking off to places. Could you at least tell us where you're going before ditching us?"

The door slammed in his face. He sighed and opened it to Hoenheim and the old woman staring, along with Link already halfway up the ladder to what was presumed as the upstairs. His father had one eyebrow raised in expectancy, but he was smiling with some amusement. The boy's grandmother, also supposedly his, was more worried. "What's wrong? Why are you all serious? Where's Aryll?"

"I think I'll go get some fresh air." Hoenheim casually walked past the door Al just came through, in a tone that suggested that he knew what they were about to do. He'd have to ask the man before they left.

"We need a plan" Link suddenly decided. "Someone needs to comfort her while I get the shield." He looked at Ed expectantly.

"Um" Al noticed the gaze, "I think it'd be smarter if I did it."

"OK" he shook his head, "let's go upstairs now." They crept along the wall towards the ladder as the younger Elric offered the woman a seat and to make her some tea. Climbing up, some dishes were heard clattering: a good sign.

"Why is there a shield up here anyway?" he asked while they climbed steadily.

"It's one of those decorative family ones, almost everyone has one hanging around on their wall here. Grandma doesn't come up here much anymore, so she probably won't notice anywa-" He stopped mid-sentence upon disappearing from his sight. Ed quickly overtook the last part and stood up on what seemed more of a loft. He followed the boy's eyes to straight in front of them, where a wreath was pinned with two decorative swords at the bottom. The middle was empty.

"What?" He asked.

"It's not here." He started looking around. "Did she move it somewhere? Why isn't it here?"

"Maybe it fell apart."

"Don't be stupid." Link jumped off the upstairs and turned around. He heard the older woman start speaking to him and slid down the ladder. He saw she was holding the shield.

"She- she really is gone, isn't she?"

"Yes."

The woman held out the carved wood to her grandchild. "These shields are used decoratively since we live in times of peace. I suppose though that you came to get it for a reason, so please go save her." Link grabbed it gently and held it up to the gods before putting it on his back. "Be safe" she told them.

They said good bye and departed. "I thought you were supposed to distract her Al."

"I tried, but she caught on."

"That's Grandma for you."

Upon reaching the pirates, Hoenheim was also there, waiting with the same look on his face. "You kids have a nice trip." He grabbed Ed's shoulder and wheeled him close, then leaned in to whisper in his ear in a very serious tone. "Save them." He pushed him towards the others then as if nothing happened. _Them? _He was just helping to find Aryll, what other people needed saving?

About to ask, his thoughts were interrupted by the conversation in front of him. "Wow, that's a pretty old-looking shield. Don't tell me you're going to get splinters and cry" Tetra teased Link.

"Hmph, I can do it!"

"Sure you can." She turned towards the tall pirate. "Are all the preparations ready?"

"Yes, Miss Tetra. We can leave now."  
"Good." She turned back to face them. "You guys ready to go?"

"Yes!"

"I believe so."

"Sure."

The crew boarded the ship. A pirate began hitting a gong, while another pulled down the sail, and people waved good bye from the shore. Link waved back eagerly, and surprisingly, so did Al. He just sat up straighter, just to see if Hoenheim was still there. He was walking away holding his coat. His father turned around briefly to meet his gaze and gave a salute off, still smiling.

Ed faced away disgusted. Not only at the man, but at all the emotion coming from the shore and his siblings.

"How long is this going to last?" Tetra commented, also annoyed. At least someone else here had the same understanding.

Once the ship sailed far enough from shore, she commanded them all into attention. "All right swabbies, people on my ship don't get away with not working. Not even you guys. So, Link and Shorty-"

"MY NAME IS ED."

"Right. Link and Ed will assist Nico in the storage area because it's pretty cramped. Al, you're going to help in the kitchen since one of our cooks got seasick." She mumbled something offensive about him. "Any questions?"

"Why are we getting separated?"

"I just told you, there isn't enough room in storage. Besides, we really need a cook right now, so this is pretty convenient." Seeing that there were no more questions, she dismissed them.

Ed followed behind Link as they went through a door to a hallway. A pirate was guarding the room next to a staircase. "What's in there?" Link asked.

"Miss Tetra's cabin. You are not allowed inside" he stood up straighter to show off his tremendous girth. He then pointed them down the stairs to get to storage, seeing that they were actually lost. They thanked him and continued on their way.

The room, to say the least, was not what they expected. There were two buttons in front of them, several torches on the end of long ropes, and platforms sticking slightly out of the floor, which suddenly deepened so one couldn't go straight ahead into the doorway at the end, that was eye-level from where they stood.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here. Not one, but two people finally below me!" A small man with large front teeth approached from seemingly nowhere. "This is great, I finally get to be the boss of somebody!"

"Are you Nico?" Link asked.

"Why of course! Where are my manners? I am the great and mighty Nico, future king of all the seas! Who are you two?"

"Ed."

"Link."

He jumped up and down with excitement. "Cool. Let's get started on your training." He walked over to the right button and jumped on it, causing the platforms to rise into the air. "He's the challenge. Push this button to get the platforms up, and then jump across." He leaped onto the first platform with gusto. "Now here's the thing. I could get onto this one by myself, but the next one's too far. You have to use the ropes to swing across!" He demonstrated, making each platform while uttering some sort of battle cry, eventually reaching the other end with the doorway. "Reach all the way over here and I'll give you a reward! But, it'll take years for you to master this. Long, painful years of humiliation!" He laughed.

"Um, OK. Which of us goes first?"  
"Oh, right." Nico scratched his head. "How about Link?"

"Yes!" The boy was ecstatic. He quickly pushed the button and practically ran onto the first platform. However, he misjudged the distance to the rope and fell.

"Your hand-eye coordination leaves much to be desired" Ed told him as he climbed up the ladder to try again.

"What's hand-eye coordination?"

"Nevermind."

After three tries, Link made it across all the ropes and platforms "Wha-?" Nico was stunned. "That was impossible!" He looked across the room. "You try!"

Ed looked at what he was supposed to do. "Can I cheat?"

"You can't cheat! This is cheat-proof!" He stomped his foot, then stopped. "Hmm, actually, go ahead. I'd like to see if you can."

Accepting the go-ahead, he bent down, clapped his hands, and connected all the platforms with protruding metal. He smiled a bit seeing both of their shocked faces as he walked over to them.

"How, how'd you do that?" Nico asked.

"It's called alchemy. The law of equivalent exchange."

"Ooh, you did that earlier with the spear, right?" Link asked.

"Yup."

"Can Al do it too?"

"Yup." He turned to the pirate. "That reward you promised?"

"Right." He was actually crying. "You-you guys are the best swabbies ever." He sniffed, "I'm so proud." He let them into the room, where a treasure chest laid.

Link rushed over and opened it up, holding out a spoils bag with glee. However, their little celebration was interrupted by Tetra yelling they arrived. They rushed up there using Ed's walkway and saw Al with her on the deck.

"So, we have a bit of a problem." Tetra stated.

"And what would that be?" Ed was not in the mood to hear it, just looking at the dark place with searchlights and strange creatures about was enough to feel tremendous pity for the girl stashed inside.

"Those searchlights prevent the ship from getting any closer."

"So how are we supposed to get there?"

"Well, I have a solution for these two, but Al, you won't be able to unless you take off the suit." He looked at Ed, who gave a brief look of pain, one he was probably sharing under the helmet.

"Are you sure he can't come? I could rig it so he-"

"Brother." He startled the older one, "I'll be fine here. They're pirates, not terrorists."

Link shared the look of pain. "But I just met you! I already lost my sister, I don't want to lose a brother as well!" he whined.

Tetra slapped all of them. "Get a hold of yourselves! This is just a rescue mission, and we'll all meet up again once you two idiots" she jabbed a finger at the blondes, "grab your sister and get out ASAP. It will not kill any of you to not see each other for an hour. _Right?_"

"Right" they all said in unison.

She walked them over to a catapult with barrels surrounding it. "Good. Now, get in the barrels."

"You're kidding, right?"

She pointed. "Did I stutter? Get. _Now_." Link looked positively claustrophobic in his, and Ed had a hard time seeing out. The tall pirate lifted up Link's first and put it on the catapult. All the pirates were smiling. "OK, we're going to launch you at that window with all the seagulls flocking around it, since that's probably where they're keeping your sister." She signaled. "Ready? Launch!"

Al, Tetra, and some others were chuckling as Link's screams pierced the air, until they realized he was too far left and collided with the wall, his sword flung out somewhere away. "Oops" Tetra said.

Ed was then loaded on next. "Hey, aren't you going to redirect the cata-"

"LAUNCH!"

His barrel was torpedoed out before he could finish his sentence. Knowing he would hit the wall, he braced himself for impact, but didn't know what would happen when he hit it.

The very second Ed had collided with the wall and the barrel broke apart, he knew something was wrong. It was not the pain from the jagged brick, although he could have done without it, nor the knowledge that his brother lost his only weapon. It was the sound of breaking metal that alerted him. Breaking metal specifically coming from his right arm.

The alchemist was peeled off the wall and began falling at an angle, almost head-first, watching helplessly as his smashed automail rained down with him.

Ed wondered what Winry would say if she knew he broke her prized work again.

**I hope the ending was unexpected for you readers. There wouldn't have been a need for all the painful hiding from the guards and running from those really annoying monsters with the sticks if Ed was armed. :D **

**Please have patience with me until the next chapter update. **


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